Nine Hungry Bears Caught in Two Days in Sierra Nevada

An already busy bear season has exploded in the Sierra Nevada with nine hungry bruins captured since Wednesday morning near Reno and Lake Tahoe as drought continues to make food scarce in the mountains. A 10th was hit and killed by a car Thursday in south Reno.

Since July 1, Nevada Department of Wildlife officials have caught 42 black bears and released all but two back into the wild. They said two repeat offenders had to be killed — one so bold it was rummaging through picnic baskets on a busy Tahoe beach. Cars have killed an additional 10 bears as the animals move into more populated areas from the parched foothills on the Sierra's eastern front, where streams are down to a trickle and the usual supply of berries and insects is lacking. As winter approaches, a typical bear's food intake jumps from 3,000 to 25,000 calories a day, said Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy. That's the human equivalent of 83 McDonald's cheeseburgers.

A black bear captured in Carson City hours earlier sits in a trap outside the Nevada Department of Wildlife headquarters in Reno, Nev., on Thursday.Nevada Dept. of Wildlife via AP